Wonderful Town

Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov wrote a solid book. But the songs by Leroy Anderson and Arnold Horwitt were not up to par with the book. Director George Abbott called on Betty Comden and Adolph Green to write a new score with the composer of their choice. Comden and Green suggested Leonard Bernstein. The only drawback was that the score had to be written in four weeks, because of other commitments on the part of Abbott and star Rosalind Russell.

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There were many clashes between the librettists and the songwriters because Fields and Chodorov didn't want the songs to interrupt the flow of the book. It caused a lot of tension. George Abbott wrote in his autobiography, "There was more hysterical debate, more acrimony, more tension and more screaming connected with this play than with any other show I was ever involved with."